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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

ARC Review: Kidnapped by the Pirate by Keira Andrews

Blurb:

Will a virgin captive surrender to this pirate’s sinful touch?

Nathaniel Bainbridge is used to hiding, whether it’s concealing his struggles with reading or his forbidden desire for men. Under the thumb of his controlling father, the governor of Primrose Isle, he’s sailing to the fledging colony, where he’ll surrender to a respectable marriage for his family’s financial gain. Then pirates strike and he’s kidnapped for ransom by the Sea Hawk, a legendary villain of the New World.

Bitter and jaded, Hawk harbors futile dreams of leaving the sea for a quiet life, but men like him don’t deserve peace. He has a score to settle with Nathaniel’s father—the very man whose treachery forced him into piracy—and he’s sure Nathaniel is just as contemptible.

Yet as days pass in close quarters, Nathaniel’s feisty spirit and alluring innocence beguile and bewitch. Although Hawk knows he must keep his distance, the desire to teach Nathaniel the pleasure men can share grows uncontrollable. It’s not as though Hawk would ever feel anything for him besides lust…

Nathaniel realizes the fearsome Sea Hawk’s reputation is largely invented, and he sees the lonely man beneath the myth, willingly surrendering to his captor body and soul. As a pirate’s prisoner, he is finally free to be his true self. The crew has been promised the ransom Nathaniel will bring, yet as danger mounts and the time nears to give him up, Hawk’s biggest battle could be with his own heart.

Dani's rating:

The year: 1710
The setting: pirate ship, somewhere in the Caribbean

Nathaniel Bainbridge is traveling by ship with his pregnant sister to meet their scheming father in the New World, an island near modern-day Bahamas called Primrose Isle. But before the ship can reach its destination, it's attacked by the The Damned Manta, a pirate ship ruled by the infamous Captain Hawk, who just struck bloody gold.

Hawk has a bone to pick with Nathaniel's father, and taking Nathaniel prisoner is the perfect plan of revenge. If Nathaniel's father doesn't cough up the ransom, Nathaniel dies.

"My treasure, my prize, my plum. That is all you are until your father pays what I'm owed."

Hawk is a lonely man who dreams of a life away from the seas. Conscripted by the British Navy at age 15, Hawk escaped only to be branded a pirate by Nathaniel's greedy, power-hungry father. Hawk is loyal to his men and swears to keep Nathaniel at arm's length, even as he grows more possessive of Nathaniel with each day.

Nathaniel is a ray of sunshine. Kind, brave, keeping a shameful secret, filled with a deep longing he doesn't understand, Nathaniel won't back down, even when Hawk is cruel. He vows to break through Hawk's staged veneer to the heart of the man.

Nathaniel is 18 to Hawk's 41, but the age gap hardly matters. This is a different time, and Nathaniel isn't a child. He craves a man's touch. Seeing the world through Nathaniel's eyes makes Hawk feel young again, even as he claims his soul is dark:

"Only devils here."

Initially the greatest of enemies, Hawk and Nathaniel become lovers. Hawk must choose: Nathaniel or his men? Love or fealty? Desire or revenge?

True hell was to love.

This is a beautifully written, complex story with a rich setting, pitch-perfect dialogue, and real, multi-faceted characters—not just Nathaniel and Hawk but the secondary characters as well:

- Hawk's men, including the slightly dour Mr. Snell, who would do anything for his captain but worries about where Hawk's loyalties lie, and Mr. O'Connell, forever grateful to Nathaniel for saving his life

-John, Hawk's first love, long dead (Hawk's memories of John made me cry)

This book is everything I wanted and MORE: fast-paced, incredibly sexy (eager virgin, submission/domination, mild humiliation kink & primal coupling on the beach), with adventure and romance perfectly balanced.

As a lover of history, I also have to mention the setting, which felt so authentic and true to the time and place. I am by no means an expert on pirates, but I was never pulled out of the story by anachronisms. I'm not remotely surprised. Keira Andrews always does her research. She's a master!

This is the ultimate love story, one where age and social class don't matter. There's even a daring rescue, but I won't tell you who rescues whom. In the end (and a very happy, hopeful, truly fulfilling end it is), Hawk and Nathaniel rescue each other.

"You are no man's lesser. Least of all mine. And the love I have for you is like no other."

Get the book:

The world belongs to those who read.

~Rick Holland

An ARC of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review. Download links are provided as a courtesy and do not constitute an endorsement of or affiliation with the book, author, publisher, or website listed.